I placed the bags on the floor and threw my arms around him. It was hard to be certain, but it felt like his body was bonier. He’d always been on the skinny side, but this was different. I looked over his thin face, trying to find any sign that he’d been hurt.
“No ass-kickings recently,” he said as he let go of me. “Took me a few punches to the jaw, but I learned to keep my mouth shut.”
I was relieved to hear it.
“Here,” he said. “Sit down.”
I did, taking the chair across from him. In front of Michael was a steaming cup of coffee. He wrapped his hands around it before lifting the mug to his face and taking a long, slow sip. When he was done, he let out an “ahh,” shaking his head as he set it down.
“You never realize how much you take for granted something like a damn cup of coffee until you’ve been stuck in a room for a while.”
“What’s been happening?” I asked. “What have they been doing to you?”
“Threats, mostly. Letting me know on the regular what’s going to happen if you don’t come through.”
“Is that why you’re here now? To send another message?”
“Yeah, something like that. Like some kind of sick reminder.”
He shook his head and sat back. Even if he hadn’t been physically hurt, it was clear that Michael was on the verge of some kind of breakdown. He was tired, worn, defeated almost.
“You know,” he said. “When we were kids, I always thought you were a total sucker.”
“What do you mean?”
“We both wanted the same things after Mom and Dad died, right? We wanted to figure out a way to make it on our own, to not have to depend on anyone but ourselves.”
“Yeah. We learned pretty damn quick what can happen when you rely on other people.”
The sounds of the coffee shop—light chatter, steam from the espresso machine, the clink of plates and cups—filled the air around us. The circumstances were hardly ideal, but for a moment, I could almost pretend I was having a normal afternoon with my brother.
“No kid should have to learn that, especially not the way we did. But…we both went about it our own ways, you know? You did it the right way—going to school, making good grades, getting into college.”
“And you did it the other way.”
He nodded. “I was a little shithead from the get-go. Thought I could break the rules, find some way to make it big outside of the system, you know? Didn’t matter how many times I got busted as a kid, how many weekends I spent in juvie, I always thought I was invincible.”
I didn’t know what to say. Michael had always been so…full of himself, so certain. Seeing him beat down like this was hard to take.
“And now I didn’t just screw things up for me, I had to drag you down with me too.”
His hand was on the table, and I reached over and placed mine on top of it.
“Doesn’t matter,” I said. “You’re my brother, and we’re all each other’s got. I’m there for you, and you’re there for me, OK?”
He let out a slow exhalation, nodding before bringing his eyes back up to me.
“We have to think of something,” I said, determination returning to my voice. “Maybe we can find some way out of this.”
His eyes went alert, and I could sense he knew exactly what was on my mind. “If you’re thinking of calling the C-O-P-S…”
“That’s exactly what I’m thinking. It’s what I’ve said we should do from the beginning.”
“Call the cops and then what? What would we even tell them? That your brother got busted stealing money from one of the biggest criminal organizations in the city, and now he wants help?”
“I don’t know. But Michael, they’re the good guys.”
He smiled slightly, letting out a snort of a laugh. “Yeah, you’d think that, wouldn’t you? April, you really don’t understand how powerful this group is, do you? They’ve got eyes and ears everywhere—I’m sure they’re watching us right now. You think they’d let me out in public like this without keeping tabs?”